Sustainability
US foresters assessing and selecting trees to be logged
- American hardwoods derive from sustainably managed forests in the United States. Reliable objective evidence of sustainable forestry is readily available from 2 sources:
- the 2000 RPA Assessment, a nationwide forest inventory mandated under U.S. federal law to be undertaken every 10 years ; and
- an independent peer-reviewed study commissioned by AHEC in 2008 from Seneca Creek Associates LLC entitled 'An Assessment of Lawful Harvesting and Sustainability of U.S. Hardwood Exports' .
- The RPA 2000 Assessment shows that between 1953 and 2007, the volume of U.S. hardwood growing stock more than doubled from 5,210 million m3 to 11,326 million m3. U.S. Forest Service forecasts indicate that further increases of 15 to 20 percent are expected in the hardwood growing stock inventory through 2030. Projections of hardwood growth and removals nationwide indicate that growth will continue to exceed removals through to 2050.
- The U.S. operates an effective and enforced regulatory framework to deliver sustainable forest management. All forest owners in the United States are subject to Federal legislation to protect habitats for threatened species.
- Tough regulations governing other aspects of forest management on private land have been implemented by individual states. The 2000 RPA Assessment shows that these regulations have been increasing overall.
- Based on a comprehensive analysis of U.S. forestry regulatory systems and practices, the 2008 Seneca Creek Study concludes that there can be high confidence of legal compliance in the hardwood sector and estimates that stolen timber represents less than 1% of total U.S. hardwood production.
- The 2008 Seneca Creek Study indicates that hardwood purchased from the U.S. should be considered Low Risk in all five risk categories of the FSC Controlled Wood standard. This means there is Low Risk of any U.S. hardwood being sourced from an illegal source, a GM crop, a forest harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights, a forest where high conservation values are threatened by management activities, or a forest being converted to plantations or non-forest use.
- The 2008 Seneca Creek Study concludes that given the safety-net of effective national and state regulations and programs that address unlawful conduct and faulty forest practices, the need for traceability, independent chain of custody and/or controlled wood certification to demonstrate legal and sustainable supplies should not be crucial for U.S. sourcing of hardwood products.
- American hardwoods derive from forests which have high natural bio-diversity, provide a habitat for a wide range of species, and are very resilient to fire and pests.
- The 2000 RPA Assessment indicates that overall hardwood forests are getting older in the United States and that this maturation is leading to increased eco-system diversity.
- Fertile forest soils and favourable growing conditions in the US mean that hardwood forests are most effectively renewed through natural regeneration. Selection harvesting, involving the removal of specified individuals or small groups of trees, is typical in American hardwood forests.
- American hardwood forests offer a greater diversity of timber species than any other temperate hardwood forest resource.
- Over the last 50 years, throughout the U.S. there has been a 39% increase in the amount of wood and paper products produced per cubic foot of wood input.
- The application of a set of the internationally recognised NHLA grading rules, established more than 100 years ago has made a major contribution to waste-minimisation in the American hardwood lumber sector.